After you finish processing your messages, you should have a clean Inbox and can switch your focus to your calendar and tasks. If you find that you are repeatedly applying the same categories and flags, create a new Quick Step that flags, categorizes, and files. Quick Steps give you the ability to perform multiple actions in one click. They are a useful tool to help you keep a clean inbox FixTechGuide Windows update Outlook fix and to generally be more efficient at using Outlook.

How can I manage complicated tasks?

As time goes on, you will likely receive more and more messages. You can’t read every message you receive — nor should you try to. Rather, just read the messages that are important for you to read. Rules will help you prioritize important messages and minimize distractions. Corporate-level messages with important news (for example, from the CEO) and messages from your IT department about server downtime should not go into a folder.

I have 10 minutes: What should I read first in my Inbox?

• In the days of "paper offices" (pre-computer age), we had 3 filing systems.
• For example, if you have only a few minutes, make all of your phone calls (if you have just a few).
• If you are taking notes or minutes for the meeting, you can also use OneNote to insert meeting details from Outlook into your notes.
• Categories aren’t a required aspect of this system, but they will make your life easier if you are diligent about using them.
• Use the Bcc feature to remove extra people from an email conversation when you deem that they no longer need the extra email or if the conversation topic has changed.

After you process your messages, you can tackle your task list. This is when you respond to those messages that you have deferred. Sometimes you receive a message that is really meant for someone else to deal with.

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But because it’s in your task list, you can move on to your next message, knowing that you will return Repair Outlook Profile Online to your flagged items later. If you receive a large volume of messages (more than 200 messages a day), search folders might be a good way for you to parse mail from different senders. If you are short on time, for example, between meetings, you can read the messages in blue – messages sent directly to you. Often these messages are waiting on you for the next step and are the most important.

Advanced: How do I create a Search Folder for email messages?

Sentences prefaced with the Microsoft 365 logo are references to other Microsoft 365 products, such as Microsoft OneNote, and Microsoft SharePoint Server. Sentences that mention AutoArchive and Outlook Data Files (.pst) are marked connection status shows disconnected with an icon of a folder and file . If your organization doesn’t deploy these products or features, these sentences can be disregarded without impacting the overall document and work flow.



This is a simple feature that is perfect for any professional who is constantly in and out of meetings every day. If possible, keep your personal and business tasks in one place. Keeping one list reduces the number of places that you need to look for what needs to be done. Even if you already have only one list, use categories to sort your personal from business tasks and manage your list effectively. Your personal tasks will be stored on your company's Exchange Server and could be visible to your IT department, so only put appropriate personal tasks on your list.



For example, there might be a lengthy series of messages where the last one simply states, "Thanks, that answers my question," so you can just delete the whole conversation. Sometimes you can’t find a message by only searching in your reference folder alone — it could be a message that you sent or it could have been misfiled. In these cases, start by searching in any folder (Inbox, 1-Reference, etc.), then select the drop down menu from the search box, and then select Current Mailbox. The reality is that if you have a day filled with meetings, you have less time to complete tasks and write messages, so move tasks to other days. The goal of organizing your Outlook is to reduce the amount of unnecessary "noise" in your Inbox and to make the most important items bubble to the top.